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CROSS Safety Report

Parapet wall collapse

Report ID: 711 Published: 1 January 2018 Region: CROSS-UK

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Overview

The sudden failure of parapet coping stones on an old two storey industrial building caused the stones to fall onto a road and pavement below.

Key Learning Outcomes

For building owners and managers:

  • Regular inspections and maintenance can help keep a structure safe and identify any obvious safety issues that need to be addressed

For civil and structural design engineers:

  • Be aware of the possibility of this type of failure (described in the report) on steep parapet slopes if you are carrying out inspections on similar structures

Full Report

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The Full Report below has been submitted to CROSS and describes the reporter’s experience. The text has been edited for clarity and to ensure anonymity and confidentiality by removing any identifiable details. If you would like to know more about our secure reporting process or submit a report yourself, please visit the reporting to CROSS-UK page.

 

The sudden failure of parapet coping stones on an old two storey industrial building caused the stones to fall onto a road and pavement below. A parked car was crushed but fortunately no one was injured. The 6m long parapet from ridge to eaves was at the top of a brick gable wall on the line of an approximately 45-degree roof slope (Figure 1 & 2). It was understood that the building had been recently inspected as part of a sale process, but no adverse comments had been made.

From a close examination of the parapet from a mobile platform, the collapse had been caused by failure of the eave’s parapet stone, according to the reporter. This stone was embedded horizontally into the wall and the parapet stones then prevented from sliding by an indent bearing into this stone with a vertical failure at the root of this indent. The reporter stated that the situation had been aggravated as the brickwork below the eaves stone appeared to have been heavily eroded (although this had been partly destroyed in the collapse) thus almost certainly also placing this stone into bending and shear in addition to the direct tension.

The opposing parapet was found to be in a similar condition from a close examination, while the parapet at the opposite gable end was found to be in reasonable condition. After the examination, it was decided to immediately remove all the remaining parapet stones and temporarily replace them with plastisol coated steel sheeting securely fixed to the brickwork. The reporter recommends that all structural engineers are aware of the possibility of this type of failure on steep parapet slopes and, if necessary, either replace or securely fix the coping stones.

After the examination, it was decided to immediately remove all the remaining parapet stones and temporarily replace them with plastisol coated steel sheeting securely fixed to the brickwork

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Figure 1: corner of brick gable wall
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Figure 2: brick gable end of building

Expert Panel Comments

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There are no Expert Panel comments on this report. The Expert Panels are only asked to comment on selected reports. These are normally reports where there is an opportunity for them to help you understand what can be learned from the report.

 

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